


Scars

by Kaiielle



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Battle Scars, Character Death, Drabble, F/M, I'm a weaboo and I am proud, I'm incapable of not writing angst after watching anything with Neji in it, Musing, Naruto AU???? I don't know what to call it, Ninja War, Sad, Wounds, not self harm, oh my god angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 04:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15789255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaiielle/pseuds/Kaiielle
Summary: He never lets himself forget that he promised to protect her.(Naruto AU, because why not.)





	Scars

**Author's Note:**

> I watched _Naruto Shippuden: The Will of Fire_ and like the mature adult I am, I broke down after seeing Hyuga Neji on the screen. I feel like whenever I see my favorite Naruto character, I'm just incapable of _not_ writing angst. I originally wrote this with Neji and Tenten in mind, but then I realized I needed more Jumin angst in my life, so here it is. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. If you noticed any errors/typos, please feel free to point them out to me! Constructive criticism is my best friend.

Peace comes to him rarely these days, and he finds that tonight is no exception, as he stares at the sleeping body of the love of his life, her chest rising steadily as the seconds tick on. The moonlight spills into their room through an open window, bathing her in a soft spotlight, and Jumin can't help but look at her scars. 

She's wearing a mere slip of a nightgown, which only means that there's no hiding her scars from him tonight. They shine, some more pink than others, and a choice few are mere slivers of pale, injured flesh that crisscross her fair skin. His heart cracks. They are ninja and it is part of their lifestyle, but he knows very well that she did not ask for these scars. She's never complained about the injuries, never stared a second too long at her marred flesh, and he loves her for it. But he loves her for these reasons, and also hates himself for it. He is, and always has been, her partner, her protector... and should have been her shield. He made a promise to her when they were children, told her that he would protect her from everything that intended to hurt her, and even though young Jumin could not understand the magnitude of his words, he never let himself forget that he was supposed to protect her. 

Jumin is the cause of her scars. And he knows it, and it eats at him every single day. 

Each scar on his beloved's body signifies the times he was not able to protect her, and as his eyes scan her body from head to toe, he is reminded of every scar. Every time. His fingers hover over a particularly grotesque gash over her shoulder, the result of a sword that had come too close, from an enemy that had been too quick. He remembers her bleeding out into his arms, remembers her faint smile and her pale hands, even as Yoosung presses his hands to her wounds, healing her as fast as he can. _She heals, and she continues to smile, but he never lets himself forget._

His hands travel down her arm, barely tracing thin criss-crosses over her forearms. He closes his eyes as he relives the memory, and suddenly they are thirteen again, inexperienced both in fighting and in love, and she is screaming as a rain of senbon comes tearing toward her, sharp and pointed edges tearing into the flesh of her arms. Jumin pushes her out of the way in seconds, but the injuries are enough to draw rivulets of blood down her arms, small drops falling onto the grass as Jumin stares at her arms in horror. _He let this happen._

Jumin shakes himself out of the memory, and continues to let his fingers ghost over her figure. He doesn't need to see it, but there is a small, pinkish scar from a year ago, where a kunai was pressed into her side as a group of thugs managed to overpower them. Back-up came in the form of Zen and Jaehee, but they weren't able to prevent the injury. Jumin knows from memory that there are also long slashes up her right leg, and a number of claw marks on her back from a mission that they took fresh after establishing a relationship with each other. He remembers kissing the scars to try and make her feel better, and he remembers her brown eyes fluttering closed as he finally, finally presses a kiss against her lips. 

His mouth flattens into a straight line, and he can't ignore the crushing pain in his chest. "I'm sorry," he whispers softly to her sleeping figure, like he does every night, when he knows she can't hear her. But unlike the other days, Jumin presses his hand to her chest, right over her heart, and he recognizes his mistake a few moments too late as her eyes flutter open. 

(*) 

A cold feeling shoots through her body in the middle of her slumber, and she feels it radiate from her shoulders, down to every bit of her toes. She gasps as she awakens, her hand immediately rushing to her chest, her fingers massaging the area as she fights off the foreign feeling. As her senses adjust to the room, her gaze falls on the other side of the bed, on the unused half of the bed that her husband used to occupy. 

She doesn't know why she starts thinking of her scars; doesn't know why she recalls the times his gaze lingers too long on her scars when he looks at her. Not in repulsion, and never disgust at her marred flesh, but in agony. She knows that he blames himself for her scars, and but she never stops trying to reassure him that they _aren't_. She hasn't even realized that her eyes are slowly starting to fill up with tears, and she makes no move to wipe the tears away as they start rolling down her face.

After a few minutes, she ceases her ministrations as the tingling feeling begins to fade, and like all sleepless nights, she brings herself back to the night that her husband died. 

_"I promised that I would protect you," he says softly, leaning against her as his life slips away from her._

_"No! Darling, keep your eyes open, please," she begs in between sobs, her hands already stained red. She tries to drag her eyes away from the gaping wound in his chest, the blood pouring down his body. "Yoosung is coming, he's on his way, he just has to-" She feels his hand on the side of her face, and she closes her mouth, her lips trembling. "My love..."_

_"If I am to die..." Jumin whispers, leaning towards her to press a brief kiss against her cheek. "It will be to prevent you from suffering this fate." She feels her eyes smart at the recollection - their opponent had been too quick, she'd seen the glint of silver heading her direction, straight towards her chest._

_She'd seen Jumin jump in front of her to protect her from the spear that would have gone straight through her._

She tries in vain to go back to sleep, and finally, finally surrenders to her dreams as the sun starts to rise. "I miss you," she whispers to her room, as her eyes close, falling back into a restless sleep. 

_I miss you, too._

**Author's Note:**

> hahahahahahahahahahahahaha i am a horrible human being
> 
> i have no emotions left, i'm sorry.


End file.
